The Corporate Affairs Commission says it will strike off 100,000 companies that failed to file annual returns in the last 10 years.

In a statement, CAC registrar-general Garba Abubakar said this while speaking at a workshop on the ‘Use of the Beneficial Ownership Register (BOR)’ in Lagos.

Mr Abubakar, however, said the CAC would soon send notices of striking off to the affected companies before embarking on the action as enshrined in section 692 of the CAMA, 2020.

He explained that the companies were entitled to be relisted upon payment of their outstanding debts and an order of a court, as provided by the law. The CAC boss advised companies to ensure timely payment of their annual return to avoid being delisted.

On the BOR, he said CAC built it with the support and assistance of the World Bank.

The registrar-general stressed that the register would go a long way in curbing corruption, money laundering, and terrorism financing. He urged stakeholders, especially investigating agencies, legal practitioners, journalists, and civil society organisations, to utilise the BOR in discharging their responsibilities.

The chairman of the Nigerian Bar Association Section on Business Law (NBA-SBL), Adeyeye Adefulu, commended the CAC for recording yet another important milestone in its history.

Mr Adefulu said the NBA-SBL would sustain its existing cordial relationship with the CAC and charged members to use the knowledge acquired at the training to benefit the Nigerian economy.

Also, the president of the Association of Bureau De Change Operators of Nigeria (ABDCON), Aminu Gwadabe, underscored the importance of the BOR in the fight against money laundering and terrorism financing.

Mr Gwadabe advised professionals to apply due diligence while dealing with their clients.

The representatives from the Special Control Unit against Money Laundering (SCUML), the Nigeria Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU), and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) attended the event.

(NAN)